Brotherhood. Duty. Family. These are important words to firefighters and to Fire Hero Families.
These three values are also a common theme among the hundreds of people who come to Emmitsburg each year to make the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend a reality.
They come from every corner of the United States. Hawaii. New York. Alabama. Vermont. To a person, they will tell you that they are there to honor the firefighters memorialized here, and to support the Fire Hero families, new and returning.
But the reasons for their motivation differ.
For Tod McKay of Hamilton, MT, it’s about connections.
McKay is part of the combined pipes and drums band that plays at the annual Memorial Service. “Every year is a little bit different—but this is a special place, and it holds good memories for us.”
Of course we’re here for the families. It’s a very moving time. We develop relationships with these families that last for many years.
Katie Jones of Visalia, CA, has an intensely personal reason for returning to Emmitsburg. Her brother, Patrick Jones, died in the line of duty in 2020, along with Ray Figueroa while fighting a fire at the Porterville Public Library. “When we got here the first time (in 2021), it was overwhelming,” she says. “But then, you come into this environment, and we realized that we weren’t alone because everyone understands.”
Jones is working in the NFFF Gift Shop this year. She says she returns to pay it forward.
When I return, it’s like my mission. I want to fill their cup the way mine was filled. I feel like my brother would be proud.
Figueroa’s 10-year-old daughter Amelia is also working in the Gift Shop. “It’s important because I like to help people and I like organizing things.” She smiles as she recalls her father, Ray. “We used to go fishing a lot,” she says. “I caught my first fish with him.”
I want them to know that it’s gonna be OK. And maybe they’ll come back next year to help.
Patrick Kammar is a volunteer firefighter from the Providence Volunteer Fire Company in Baltimore County, MD.
Kammar is returning for his third National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend, working on the social media team. “We give the families the chance to see their heroes for who they were as fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters,” he says.
I volunteer because I believe in the importance of memorializing our firefighter brothers and sisters.
East Farmingdale, NY Fire Marshal Jessica Hill is working her second Memorial Weekend. “I think it is important that there are people on their side dedicated to making a day filled with emotions as positively memorable as possible,” she says.
Nothing can make what they have gone through easy, but being able to provide even the slightest amount of comfort brings a sense of pride.
For Mark Herny of Clearwater, FL, it’s simple. “They [the families] put the hard work in up front in dealing with the loss of their family member,” he says.
Herny is the sergeant-at-arms for the honor guards and pipes and drums for this year’s Memorial Service. The enormity of the event hits him often on the flight home to Florida. “Sometimes I feel pain, especially if there’s a name that I know going on the wall,” he says.
His face becomes resolute as he says, “I’m proud of what I do up here, because I am not forgetting them. I’m not forgetting their families.”
Now it’s our time to take care of them.
The reflections and commitment of these volunteers are just a sampling of the dedication of the hundreds of men and women who come together at Memorial Weekend each year. They help bring to life the core of the NFFF’s mission: to pay tribute to our nation’s fallen firefighters and to support their families.
